HOMEMADE PLEDGE

A very Merry Christmas in our household. A day spent with family and a new friend~Ebony the foster child we sponsored for Christmas. The festivities began about 1:00 p.m. and continued into the early evening when we had a little crisis. As we began to wind down the holiday the puppies were given a Christmas treat a little doggie sausage. Well, Ms. Lexi decided not to chew her treat and gobbled it down................she unfortunately began to choke and gag and it was soon apparent that this was a very serious situation. After trying to assist her we rushed her the emergency veterinarian hospital where she was immediately put to sleep to clear her throat/airway. Luckly everthing turned out okay; but, the vet indicated that if we had brought her in she wouldn'tg have made it. It definitely was up there on the scary scale..........................Lexi had to spend the night to be monitored at the vet clinic. That was one of noteworthy memories of Christams 2007!

This is also the first Christmas that we spent with my cousin Eric and his family here in Seattle. Charlie's brother also joined us from North Carolina and Camille was on winter break from college. Our very special guest was Ebony who made us all remember that children make Christmas wonderful. Ebony was definitley excited about her rollerblades and leapfrog game; but, I think she enjoyed the puppies the most:

Check out this new blog I just found & love MODERN COUNTRY. This blog give a modern, fresh look of the traditional country style for us city girls!!! The authors profile states "To all my International visitors: I am a Norwegian girl who lives in The Netherlands, but are moving back to Norway springtime 2008. I Iove Country decorations,antiques and brocantes. Love to enjoy food with friends and make jokes. I just love the smell of fresh homebaked bread and apple pie! Animals are my friends and i have a beautiful black cat, named Julie.I am very passionate about nature conservation, so I try to live as environmentally friendly as I can.Taking picturs is fun and specially of gardens with plants,flowers and butter-flies. I enjoy life with all the good thing it has to offer and live by the day! To surround myself with beautiful things gives me inspirations day to day.I dream of a quiet life at the countryside with a few more animals, where i can enjoy crafting. This is my world!"

She has some beautiful things that I would love to have in my home. I do so love European antiques that reflect a light/shabby chic style. I love this quote on her blog:Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."~ William Morris. Some of the decorations that I have in my home that I find beautiful are my collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. This year I displayed them in my dining room and other areas of my home. My biggest collection is unfortunately packed away in my garage in Arizona.

I love the ornaments hanging from the chandlier:

And this Pottery Barn jar filled with ornaments and faux snow:

I love to mix old and new in decorating my home. How do you incorporate old treasures with your new decor?

Things are starting to pick-up around here. Yesterday, Camille and I had a half day of beauty getting our wigs twisted. Boy, that Camille has a lot of hair. It took forever for the stylist to dry and cut her hair! After that we joined up with Charlie and my dad and attempted to go to downtown Bellevue for a little dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Big mistake that was..............people everywhere and a one and a half hour wait there & at McCormick and Schmidt's. So we ended up at the Tap House an up scale resturant/bar that had over 100 beers on their menu. Well, you can guess who loved that? Charlie is always trying a new brew.

I have been busy working at Pottery Barn and loving it. They definitely are a first class operation. I also have bought some great gifts there also. I do have to work on Christmas Eve and then we are going to my cousin's house for dinner and then church. I am hosting Christmas Day at my house. I've been working on getting my table decor all set. Ebony the foster child who we are sponsoring for Christmas is coming over also to un-wrap all her gifts. There is nothing like a child's joy at Christmas! Spread the joy!!!!

May everyone who receives this message be blessed. REMEMBER to pray. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward. Make sure you pray, and pray believing that God will answer. May today be all that you need it to be today. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight and conquer all your fears. May God manifest himself today in ways that you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer and your prayers be answered. I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is . enlarged and I pray that you step into your destiny within your ministry. I pray for peace, health, happiness and true and undying love for God

Spread kindness this holiday season, paying if forward, help make the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time!

I recently read this article on THE BLOGGERS OF KINDNESS at ZEN HABITS that was absolutely awesome!!!! After reading this article I just had a great feeling about mankind. Random kindness.........................practicing kindness everyday to strangers you meet during your daily activities. How powerful if each and everyone of us embraced this every opportunity. How awesome and powerful each of us can be in making the world a better place.

Camille and I experienced a random act of kindness last Sunday at Target. We had just finished checking out of a long line at Target. We were both drinking Cokes that we had grab out of the cooler at the beginning of the check out line. On our way out of the store Camille mentioned to me that she didn't think the cashier had included our beverages. I mentioned to the cashier our unpaid beverages. We waited while the cashier was busy with the next customer. The couple who's purchases were now being rung up ( and they had a lot of stuff) offered to pay for our drinks. I was a little amazed at how joyfully they made this offer. They kept insisting in the kindest manner. I thought to myself "Wow" in the mist of this over-crowded store filled with many holiday shoppers they made a kind gesture to us...............complete strangers.

So when I read this article I recalled this experience. Random kindness such as opening a door for someone at the store or helping a mother manage her shopping cart with a young child. Small simple things we can do to make the world a better place. PAY IT FORWARD.....................DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE ELSE..........

This is how I feel about Ebony the foster child living in a group home that we are sponsoring for Christmas. Yes, I have purchased more things for her than I have for my family. But, she is really in need and we aren't. We really need for nothing! She has no one and we have each other. I want to have Ebony to our house for Christmas even if special arrangements have to be made. Random kindness.........that's what is all about folks.

Well, college changes everything.................kids go away to school spoiled from the comforts of home, and come back changed persons!!!!! Camille is a perfect example. As a high school student the only time she went into the kitchen was to open the refrigerator and use the microwave. The only non-microwave meals she had were from her parents, Wendy's, and Cheeseburger Cheeseburger( a favorite St. Thomas Aquinas hangout). But, now with the revolution of kitchens in dorm rooms and now living in an off-campus apartment..........she is becoming a foodie. Yes, she is now interested in recipes, cooking Sunday dinner and all that good stuff. Here's a picture of her taking a twirl around our kitchen several days ago:

She actually has been asking me for recipes and that she wants to learn how to make Shrimp and Corn Chowder. It definitely is yummy one! If you want to try it here goes:

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup chopped leeks(white part only)

3 cups corn kernels(18 oz/about 6 ears of corn)

1 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 cups chicken broth

2 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced

1/2 cup half and half

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound cooked shrimp(tails removed)

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

In a large deep saucepan warm vegetable oil over medium heat. Once warm add leeks and 2 1/2 cups of corner kernels and saute until they become soft( 3-5 minutes). Add thyme, salt, cayenne, nutmeg, and 3 cups of chicken broth. Simmer then reduce heat to low and cook gently.

Using a blender of food processor combine remaining corn and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Puree until smooth. Stir the pureed mixture into the simmering soup along with the potatoes. Cook uncovered, until the corn and potatoes are tendered but still firm( usually 15 minutes).

Stir in the half and half and adjust the the seasonings as necessary. If the soup is too thick, use the remaining broth to thin soup.

In a heavy frying pan over median heat, melt the butter. When hot add shrimp and heat for 2 minutes.

How can I be creative when my house is a total out-of-control mess by the creativity I am trying to ENCOURAGE!!!! Yes, I have been dying to get out all my craft supplies and go to town making things. But, in the meantime I have created all kinds of messes that make me less creative and stressed! I know you understand don't you?

I have been wanting to spend time making "stuff" but decorating my house has taken priority. And of course after I decorated my house I cannot seem to get it back to where it was before the decorating started. There is glitter everywhere and furniture/accessories out of place because seasonal items have taken their place. So I vacuum, dust, and clean and it still is not clean enough....What's a girl to do? Then tonight I used the swiffer sweeper on my floors and I almost cried when I saw how dirty they were. I hate housework; but, I hate a dirty house even more!!!

Things are getting pretty busy around here. Thursday evening I accompanied Charlie to the Huskie Football Banquet. The evening was a nice tribute to the team who had a season that didn't measure the effort they put forth. It is final moment for the seniors to close the door on their Huskie football career. Here's my hubby presenting an award to Marcel Reece who is the nicest young man in the world.

Charlie looked really sweet and boyish in his blue pinstriped suit. Ha, ha, ha! Many people think that after the season is over that coaches are finished for the year. However, then it is time to continue the recruiting process and nail down those final recruits. We are happy that the University of Washington is going to honor another year on Coach WIllingham's contract. I am disgusted at the media for trying to influence public opinion! The fanatical people who write in on these message boards really are off the top. It is apparent to me that these fringe people really don't have a clue about the game of football and what really goes on from the inside out!

Camille is home for winter break and she was bored after being here 5 hours!!! Today we went shopping, out to lunch, she watched a movie, and then went to Barnes and Nobles to get some books to read!!! She doesn't know it yet but she will be assisting me with some fun projects around the house.

My dad is being stubborn after he mistakenly wrote several checks on checks he had previously canceled. He is often losing things and had lost his checkbook during our move from Arizona. After being totally stressed about losing his checkbook, I called the bank for him and canceled about 7 checks. As instructed by the bank he began writing checks in a new sequence.. Eventually, I found his original checkbook when I was unpacking boxes here in Seattle. I instructed him not to use the checks that were canceled.

Well, anyone who is 85 years old with memory problems should have destroyed the canceled checks but he wouldn't allow me to to so. Apparently, he began to write checks from two checkbooks and of course the old checks will not clear. Now we have a big mess on our hands and he wanting to be independent will not let me assist him. This mess led to a big blow-out between us & frustrated I left the whole situation alone. Well, that was yesterday and nothing has been done to correct the situation. So, I sit here frustrated and concerned. It's hard to deal with a parent who is highly intelligent and was prudent about his finances becoming incapable of managing things. I have difficult struggle allowing him to keep his independence and taking care of his financial affairs in the proper manner. It is tough to see your parent lose their ability to carry out their personal affairs. I have no advise I just know some of friends are definitely going through the same thing! So, please pray for some cooperation from him on this matter...............

Please Santa or anyone in our household........................can we please have something to fill our tummy's? We would be so grateful for anything......................so please, please, please!!!

We're just waiting for a possible crumb to fall...................so sad is it all. Yes, these are my four darling puppies begging for a treat. I actually had to show them a newspaper to get them to leave the table. Oops! And the other person who needs to see a newspaper is my dad who always tries to sneak them something against my wishes!

The spirit of Christmas has arrived at our house amidst the nasty weather we have been enduring. We had 24 hours of non-stop rain that was very heavy at times. The down pour was so bad that there was low visibility. In the Seattle area there was mudslides, road closures, flooding, and people being rescued from the roof tops of their homes. It was so nasty that I stayed inside and focused on bringing holiday cheer inside.

The Christmas trees are decorated and festive touches are apparent throughout. Charlie came home from Hawaii last evening and said "wow" when he walked through the door. I think he loves being surround with Christmas decorations more than I do. I mixed up my decorating this year and tried to come up with a new look. Charlie of course wanted as much red as possible...............andI this year I prefer the softer tones. Here 's a look at our tree in our informal dining area overlooking the family room:

This room will officially be a keeping room once I get some comfortable seating. A couple of over-sized chairs for reading and lounging would be great. One can only dream! I think my tree looks a little "funky" don't you think? How are your holidays progressing? I have even wrapped a few gifts. Hopefully, I will get my presents in the mail early this year.....